Doctorate in Transportation and Logistics

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. program requires the completion of a minimum of 90 credits of graduate study beyond the baccalaureate degree with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher. Each student must develop a plan of study under the guidance of a faculty adviser and a supervisory committee. Twenty-five of the graduate credit hours must consist of core Transportation & Logistics courses or suitable substitutes. A minimum of 30 credit hours must be taken in the student's area of concentration, including quantitative methods courses related to the concentration. A minimum of 30 credit hours must consist of research-based dissertation credits. The remaining credits may be comprised of technical electives and additional dissertation credits.

Students must take a qualifying examination upon completion of the core courses (TL 782, TL 783, TL 785, ENGR 770, ENGR 771/TL 831) which are typically completed after the first year. The qualifying exam will include two components: (1) core transportation and logistics knowledge and (2) competency in quantitative methods. After passage of the qualifying examination and successful completion of the courses designated in the plan of study, the student may schedule a comprehensive examination. The comprehensive exam includes written and oral components related to the student's area of concentration. The comprehensive exam also includes a dissertation prospectus examination in which the student must present and defend a plan for undertaking and completing a dissertation. After passage of the comprehensive exam and completion of the dissertation, the doctoral candidate must pass a final examination in which the completed dissertation is presented and defended.